As chair of DPAC, I am astounded by the disrespect of our government toward the future of our province, our children.

We live in a province that is one of the best places in Canada to live, but we fall desperately short in ensuring that our children’s future is protected.

Instead, our government insists on a balanced budget that slashes supports children need to thrive in the education system.

This past Tuesday, our educators walked the picket lines to fight for what our children need to learn; keeping class sizes within teachable limits and ensuring the composition of said classrooms is conducive to teaching children in an environment they can thrive in.

We need guaranteed levels of specialist teachers (in our district, cuts were made to specialist teachers), and a reasonable wage increase that is respectful of teacher’s skills (the last wage increase was in 2010).

Parents and teachers have a constitutional right to expect fair treatment and fair play during negotiations.

Please remember that public education is also a constitutional right.

During negotiations, the teachers are making every effort to pressure the government with as little impact on students and parents as possible, while the government is enforcing a lockout on teachers that will have very significant impact on students.

When you see picket lines in your area, I encourage you to stop and stand with the teachers, stand up for education and the future for our children. The teachers and education partners are.

Kellie Marquet, DPAC chair

Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows, SD No. 42

How moronic

Editor, The News:

Re: Teachers will be docked 10% (The News, May 23).

Christy Clark’s government has locked me out of my school at lunch, saying that I cannot interact with students at this time, in order to justify the government’s 10 per cent reduction in my wage.

How moronic is that?

Lunch time is my students’ No. 1 choice for tutorial time, and final exams are only two weeks away.

Brent Crich

Maple Ridge

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